Vascular stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel. Vascular stenosis can include peripheral artery stenosis, coronary artery stenosis, carotid artery stenosis, and renal artery stenosis. There exist several ways to detect vascular stenosis. For example, a vascular stenosis can be detected using a stethoscope to amplify bruit, i.e., noise, within the blood vessel due to turbulent blood flow through the narrowed blood vessel. Alternatively, one or more imaging methods can be used to detect and locate a vascular stenosis. For example, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography can be used to detect and locate a vascular stenosis.
A common cause of vascular stenosis is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, aka, hardening of the arteries, is a disease that affects the arterial blood vessel. Atherosclerosis is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries. As plaque builds up within an artery, the diameter of the artery is reduced and results in a stenosis.
Vascular stenosis can be treated using a stent. A stent can be from a shape memory material or a non-shape memory material. A stent made from a non-shape memory material can be installed on a balloon catheter and then, threaded through a patient's cardiovascular system to the stenosis. Once the stent is in place within the stenosis, the balloon catheter can be inflated in order to deform the stent and move the stent to an expanded configuration. Thereafter, the balloon catheter can be deflated and withdrawn from the patient.
A stent made from a shape memory material can be installed on a catheter and a sleeve can be placed over the stent. The catheter and sleeve can be threaded through a patient's cardiovascular system to the stenosis. Once the stent is in place within the stenosis, the sleeve can be removed from the stent. When exposed to the patient's body temperature, the stent automatically can move to an expanded configuration that corresponds to a shape memory configuration.